1997 Ford Windstar LX from North America - Comments

Wow, I could have personally written 80% of these posts myself. Our 97 Windstar has 117,000 good miles on it. It’s been a pretty decent car, still has a strong engine and tranny. However as with everyone else these little nitnoy things start to drive one batty. Our ABS light stays on most of the time, sometimes it goes off when I add brake fluid. Our engine light started coming on about 6 months ago, we checked all of the “normal” things you think of when the check engine light comes on, like oil, antifreeze and such. Then we had some problems with the van starting, took it to get a new battery and when the new battery was installed…shazzam, the light went out. Turned out it wasn’t that easy though, it came back on about a week later. I noticed that I had a bad connection on the ground wire to the battery, so I changed that wire, shazzam, the light went out again…at least long enough for us to pass the emission check here in Ohio. Then it came back on. I may check the wire again to ensure that it has a good connection, if that solves it I’ll report back. I hear that clunking noise in the front too, not often, but every once in a while. I’ve experienced the dome light/chime/Door Ajar syndrome also, I too was removing the fuse each time I got out of the vehicle. Problem seems to have corrected itself for now, haven’t had to remove the fuse for about a month. I’ll try the WD40 trick if it happens again. Glad I found this site, not that so many others are having the same problems, but at least you get ideas of how to fix certain problems. We are currently trying to trade ours in and cut our losses before anything more drastic happens.

I would suggest staying AWAY from FORD products. They are horribly manufactured.

Good vans out there are the Honda Odyssey, Toyota Sienna, and if those are too expensive, try the Kia sedona which is still better then the windstar.

After reading all the above comments, it should come as no surprise that Ford is giving up on the Minivan market segment and ending production, with no intention of restarting.

The name change from Windstar to Freestar didn't fool anybody.

It's still crap.

Now Ford is losing market share fast; not to Daimler Chrysler or GM, but to the Far East companies such as Hyundai.

Ford has also announced massive layoffs of workers and multiple plant closings.

It will be difficult to recover if consumer confidence is lost.

Ford is entering a downward spiral and there is no end in sight.

Be prepared for a crash-landing!

The Chinese will speed up the demise of the domestic manufacturers if they make a serious attempt at exporting to the USA.

Expect a decent car for US$7,500.

We too are experiencing the chimes and lights in our 1998 Ford Windstar, but everything else with the van has been great. No problems whatever and we have 144,800 miles. I appreciated reading all the comments as it will probably save us a lot of money not replacing sensors and such. We will try WD oil first. What can we do to get Ford to recall?

Oh yeah we have a crap '98 windstar also.. it's a total pos

We had a ford explorer before this one and one of the pistons melted. Dunno why my parents bought another ford.. now they wanna sell this junk heap and buy.. ANOTHER FORD.. wtf they don't learn from their mistakes.

Hi all. I also have all the light problems mentioned. Thank you all, for your sharing. I have also had no front heat in our 97 wind star as I know many others have form reading posters on other sites. But I am happy to share that it was the plastic shaft on the damper door motor had broken, and we fixed it by putting it back together with J B weld. I hate to think what parts would have cost. Thank you for the W D 40 tips.

Sure, more "quality" Chinese made products. Just like the crappy hardware and tools you find at Wal-Mart. You'll run screaming back to your Ford, thanking god for it when the Chinese move into the auto market.

Hello I to have a Ford Wind star 97 the WD40 Worked Great so far, I had the ABS light come on in jerking when braking, this was fixed by replacing the ABS gear on the drivers side shaft, I had some transmission problems and the only thing wrong was the speed sensor I got it fixed for 100 USD, I have the Speedometer problem still have not solved that, I also replaced the valves on the motor. The only thing I can say the are comfortable, but I will never buy a Fords again, I have a lot better luck with my 91 Grand AM that I sold for 1000 and it had 250,000 miles on in with no problems.

I also have a 97 wind star. My problems started with oil light on at stops. 300 later with new high pressure oil pump I still get the oil light at stop. I also get the check engine light. It starts to flash after 10 minutes on the road. Just about the time it hits normal operating temp. I have found that if I shift into neutral and restart the van it stops running rough. I will put tape over the check engine light. I also have the bumping noise on my ABS. I had my brother in law disable the ABS with the fuse in the engine compartment. The light stays on, but the brakes work fine. I will use the piece of tape fix with that also. I am not spending anymore money to fix this darn thing. I am going to just drive it until it blows up then donate it for the tax benefits. I really like the van. I am scared to get another one Thanks Mike.

Hello everyone, I too have a 2000 Windstar LX. With its strong 110k miles. Theres just a few problems that seem to grab my attention. If the van is parked on a slope and you goto put it into gear the shifter almost seems locked, until you grab and pull hard enough to put it into gear. But along with that it SLAMS into gear, scares everyone around the van and jults the van like no other. We've had people tell us of ways to get around this and that is to come to a complete stop, pull the E-brake put it into N (nuetral) and let off the gas. This is taking the presure off of the tranny. Then after about 5 seconds of sitting in N (neutral) then slide it over into park then release the e-brake (caution though, the van will roll back more than it usally does when it gets put into Park). Sometimes this trick works sometimes it doesn't almost doesn't work more than it does. Anyone got any idea's of fixing it? The second this is that clunking noise coming from the engine, seems to be really loud when it sits in park or when the van is coming to a slow stop. I will have to have the main frame bolts and have the struts checked out as well. Well I guess that's it for now... hopfuly for good. Thank You All.

I purchased a used 1997 ford windstar GL. I noticed the check engine light is on and we also hear the front end noise and my speedometer moves a lot. I need input on where I should start with trying to just have a car to drive. I can't afford

another vehicle I really like the way it drives. Please help.

Tara

Hampton Va.

Tara:

The check engine light is most likely an O2 sensor. Go to an Auto Zone store (or other main stream auto store) and they will check the code and clear it for free. If the problem is an O2 sensor you won't hurt anything by driving it that way, it may hurt your fuel mileage some, but will not damage the van.

As for the noise in the front end, it would be best to have that checked by a trusted alignment shop. Ask them to give you an estimate and let you know what is wrong. Chances are that the noise is from the upper strut bearings and is annoying, but not dangerous. My 97 has had front end noise since 2000 and is still going strong. I did have to replace some tie rod ends, but those do wear out over time and miles.

If you have not done it yet, change you transmission fluid and filter.

Good luck!

We picked up what we thought was a good deal in a van... You know the story... We bought a '98 Windstar from a transmission shop. The previous owners fried the tranny and couldn't afford the new transmission, so the shop owner bought it from them and rebuilt the tranny. It had 121,000 miles on it. From the onset, the 'door ajar syndrome' reared its' ugly head. I thought I was going insane.. Sometimes it did it, and sometimes it didn't. First thing in the morning, I'm pulling out the WD-40 and trying out that trick.

I had to redo the front brakes, including rotors. When I had it apart, I noticed a bar that reaches from one side of the van to the other. In the olden days, we called it a sway bar. I don't know if it's still called that or not. In any event, I noticed that the bolts holding it in had backed themselves out, and were almost at the point where they were ready to fall out. I re-tightened them, and now they're loose again. I'll add some aircraft loctite and see if that don't hold 'em in place. The power steering pump's also shot, so that's a repair that I have to make before we can get it on the road again.

We took it to Georgia over the Christmas holiday. (We live in East Tennessee) On the way down, a current of air got underneath our cartop carrier, and the cartop carrier INCLUDING THE ROOF RACK literally blew off in the middle of the interstate. I mean, the bolts holding the roof rack on were literally pulled from the holes in the roof!

I feel like I'm in the Tom Hanks movie "Money Pit" whenever I'm driving that van. I join the others who've said "No more Fords for me". As God as my witness, I'll never buy another one. As soon as I make the necessary repairs, I'm going to dump it off on someone else and get an Astro van. Ford should be ashamed of themselves for what they've done to the consumers. They're the Yugo's of modern day automobiles.

My condolences to my fellow Windstar owners.

I just bought a 95 Wind-star from the original owner with 99 k miles. It was garage kept and in beautiful condition and the price was low. It runs and rides very well. I drove it one evening with no problem. The next day the door ajar light stayed on and the chime would sound. I found that jiggling the ignition switch would make the chime quit, but the light stayed on. If I turned on the headlights, a very fast chime would start. All of these symptoms disappear above about 15 mph as discussed in the service manual since the speed sensor is also an input to the GEM module which controls all of these functions. The previous owner had the transmission repaired and the radiator and associated overheating problem fixed. So far it is the original head gasket. Does anyone know if the head gasket blowing problem is associated with the overheating problem as might be expected. In other words, should I still expect the head gasket to blow? This is a 3.8 engine and I am wondering whether I should keep it now that so many things have been fixed or dump it. Other than that, it really seems like a nice van. Any advice? Thanks.

I purchased a '97 Ford Windstar last year thinking that a used car from a Ford dealership that passed a "gazillion point inspection" would be safe and reliable. From reading the comments posted earlier, I've determined that not only are the Ford people refusing to admit that there is a problem, but that they are allowing their dealers to continue to profit from the unsuspecting public's trust. I'm actually ashamed now, that I purchased that van and with the door chime, dome light, and speedometer problems I'm having, I wish I'd gone foreign. I'm wondering, though, why there hasn't been some kind of suit. Can this be done?